1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of wrapping elements and more specifically to wrapping elements that are useful within the floral industry. Still more specifically, this invention relates to wrapping elements that comprise two layers of material that are laminated together and are used to form a decorative wrapping element around a floral arrangement or flower pot, for example. Still more specifically, this invention relates to layered, floral wrapping elements that have been holographically enhanced in order to impart a more pleasing, beautifying and decorative value thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well-known within the wrapping industry to provide wrapping elements that provide beauty and enhance objects that are wrapped therein. Objects such as gifts, flowers and the like are conventionally wrapped to enhance the beauty thereof. It is also known in the prior art to provide a wrapping element for flower pots and the like. These flower pot wrapping elements have conventionally been manufactured from heavy duty, strong materials such as plastics and the like in order to survive the rigor of wrapping up these elements. It is also known to provide an alternative material which is made by laminating or gluing two or more layers of material in intimate contact together. Thus, conventional flower pots and the like are wrapped up in a laminated material which may contain a sheet of plastic glued to a sheet of aluminum, for example. The plastic side of this laminate (known as the "sealing layer") is conventionally placed against the surface of the flower pot while the aluminum side of this laminate (also known as the "forming layer") is on the outside thereof and permits the entire element to be "formed" around the shape of the flower pot used. The sealing layer will provide some water proofing to this system so that when the flowers or plants contained in the pot are watered, leakage is prevented or slowed. Colored plastic or aluminum layers have been used to make this laminated material and to add some beauty thereto. Other decorations or advertisements may be added to the laminate if desired, but this then adds cost and time to the manufacture of these wrapping elements.
Holographically enhanced materials are also known in the prior art. These are usually made by a proprietary process which includes, among others, passing a layer of plastic, for example, through a machine that imparts a variated image on the upper strata of the plastic. This can be done by a special embossing machine, for example. A powdered metallic material (e.g., powdered aluminum) is then applied to this variated image by a special process whereby the metal adheres to the imaged areas. This process is the so-called "metallizing process". After this metallizing step, the image on the plastic appears to have a holographic or three-dimensional appearance. This image can be extremely pleasing to the eye and is very desirable in the advertising field. Additionally, each of these images is very hard to duplicate and thus has found wide use within the credit card industry to prevent fraud and for other security purposes. The draw-back to the use of this particular image is the cost since the machines that produce the image are very complicated and expensive. Thus, this particular material has not found wide use outside of the credit card and novelty industries.
Yet another prior art element that uses holographic images is described by Miekka et al. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,604, Oct. 13, 1992. This reference describes how a paper base is subsequently coated using a specific coating or extrusion process with a thermoplastic material to make a laminate of paper and plastic. The coated sheet is then heated and the softened plastic layer is then embossed to provide the requisite diffraction pattern that forms the holographic image. This holographic image may also be metallized to enhance the hologram. This final material may also be used within the security or novelty industries. The process of applying the thermoplastic layer and the composition thereof is what is proprietary and this material is used directly within the credit card industry, for example.
Recently, a novel process for making large sheets of holographically enhanced material (e.g., plastics) has been developed. Thus, the costs of such holographically enhanced plastic has been significantly reduced.